Today, Democracy for America (DFA) released the results of its first 2020 Presidential Pulse Poll with Bernie Sanders leading with over a third of DFA members encouraging him to run for president. He is followed by Joe Biden, Beto O'Rourke, Elizabeth Warren, and Kamala Harris.

The poll, which ran from Thursday, November 29th through midnight (ET) Friday, December 14th, is the first DFA has conducted of its membership regarding the 2020 presidential election.

DFA members cast a total of 94,163 votes for potential candidates in this Presidential Pulse Poll, with each member being able to rank order their votes for up to three potential candidates on their ballot.

Ahead of 2020, DFA is committed to pressuring presidential candidates to be progressive leaders, providing opportunities for those running on inclusive populism to connect with its members, and conducting multiple Presidential Pulse Polls prior to any potential endorsement vote. The next DFA Presidential Pulse Poll is likely to occur in the first half of 2019.

"These results make clear that, while Bernie Sanders' has a strong early lead, no single potential presidential candidate has full command of the Democratic Party's progressive base heading into 2019," said Yvette Simpson, incoming Chief Executive Officer of Democracy for America. "With more than 14 months before Iowa, we expect these results to change as grassroots progressives hear the messages the candidates are running on, see the campaigns executing on the ground, and watch them construct the broad-based coalition of the New American Majority of people of color and white progressive voters it will take to beat Donald Trump."

"Let's be clear: Progressive support in the 2020 Democratic Primary is up for grabs and so is Democracy for America's endorsement," said Charles Chamberlain, DFA's current Executive Director and incoming Chair. "Unlike 2016, no candidate has support strong enough for the Democratic Party establishment to clear the field, which means progressives will have an excellent opportunity over the next year to kick the tires on a wide range of different candidates and find the best one to take on Trump. With a clear majority of the top five candidates being champions of Medicare for All, these results illustrate that Americans are eager for bold, progressive candidates who will fight for the multiracial inclusive populism America needs in 2020 and beyond."

That episode and others offered clues to how Ocasio-Cortez and her social media practices fit into a national legislature that’s slowly becoming younger, less male and more diverse. The approach Ocasio-Cortez is modeling — and the political world is studying — gives her a measure of control by communicating directly with constituents and responding to critics in close to real time.

“She knows how to navigate this space in a way that others don’t,” said Yvette Simpson, incoming CEO of Democracy for America, a progressive political action committee. Also, Simpson pointed out, “She’s not accountable to that power structure” in Congress. “She’s accountable to the group that put her there.”